Rail joint and apparatus for forming the same



RAIL JOINT AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING THE SAME Filed April 22, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l Cm a T1 IQ Inventor y D "A 77;M1/; (/m

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May 14, 1940. A. N. BROGDEN RAIL JOINT AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING THE SAME Filed April 22, 1939 Patented May 14, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE RAIL JOINT AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING THE SAIVIE Alfred Nathan Brogden, Blackpool, England Application April 22, 1939, Serial No. 269,526 In Great Britain January 26, 1937 .4 Claims. (01. 82-1) The present invention relates to improvements in the process of manufacture of rail joints of the type in which the ends of lengths or sections of rails are so shaped that when fitted to a correspondingly shaped rail end they overlap to form ness are mounted in a cage to be rotatable relatively to cutting tools about a centre displaced away from the rail.

The invention is more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is an end sectional view of a rail joint, and

Fig. 2 is a similar view but showing a modifition thereof, whilst Fig. 3 is a plan view drawn to a reduced scale of one form of finished rail joints to which the invention can be applied.

Figs. 4, and 6 are respectively, elevation, transverse section and end view of one form of apparatus adapted to machine the rail ends for effecting the lapped joints.

Referring first, more particularly, to Fig. 3 inclusive, the ends of rails, I, 2, are reduced to halfwidth or approximately half -width, as shown, and overlap as at 3, 4, the lapped joint with the fish plates 5 or washer plates 6 being either suspended between adjacent chairs or sleepers 1, 8, as shown in Fig. 3 or supported thereon. Said rail ends are provided with elongated bolt holes for thereception of the customary bolts as shown, and the washer plates 6 may conveniently be formed by dividing a standard fish-plate 5 in equal parts.

As indicated in dotted lines 9, Fig. 1, the rail may be fiat-bottomed, but obviously the invention may be applied to rails of any suitable shape in cross section.

Reverting now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2:

In Fig. 1 lengths or sections of rail at the lapped parts 3, 4 deviate from the vertical plane defined by the line If), H, the contact face of part 3 being concave and the contact face of part 4 being convex about a median plane intersecting and parallel to the rail web; such radius of curvature is shown by the line l2, I3, (shown exaggerated in the drawing for the sake of clearness). Thus it is ensured that said contacting faces shall at all times maintain their relative alignment and a firmer connection between the two rails is obtained and this notwithstanding the 5 expansion and contraction of the rails; which movement is facilitated due to the guiding effect resultant on the concave-convex fitment.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 2,'the

contact faces of the lapped ends, 3, 4 of the rail are in effect corrugated, being each formed with a convex surface l4 and a concave surface l5, respectively, relative to the vertical plane l0, H to further increase the contact area of the jointing parts and still permit the rail sections freedom to slide longitudinally of one another.

In the manufacture of these joints, a plurality of rails, such as I, I, are mounted on the periphery of a cylinder or drum I6, Figure 4, and are supported at both ends It in suitable bearings I1,

such bearings being part of headstocks l8 which carry tools l 9 whereby simultaneous turning and boring respectively of the rail ends 3, 4 is effected. Intermediate bearings for the drum are provided in numbers suitable tothe length of rails and drum. In the arrangement shown the tools l9 are stationary and the drum l6 revolves, but if desired the tools may revolve whilst the drum is stationary.

In the particular arrangement illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the cages l6 revolve, carrying the rails I past the tools l9 (say six in number) carried by the headstocks I8. At one end of the machine the rail end is turned to produce the convex half 4 of the lapped joint of Fig. 1 whilst the other rail end is simultaneously bored to the same radius to produce the concave half 3 of Fig. 1. Said cutting tools l9 are independently adjustable and each is provided with separate feed motion.

The centre portion of the cages l6, which partly carry the rails I, are unit by themselves and are mounted on tyred wheels 20, 20 an axle constituted by a flanged cylinder 2i connecting said wheels 20, 20 in desired spaced relative positions. The wheels 20, 20 are engaged respective by revoluble track wheels 22 mounted on axles 22' sothat the drum l6 revolves true. There are two flange tyred wheels 20 and one plain tyred 0 wheel 20. These three wheels take their share of the Weight of the rails which are threaded through holes 23 forming guideways in the webs of the wheels 20, 20 and are firmly held therein by clamps.

The central cage unit carrying the plain tyred wheel 26 and the two end cage units lG which revolve on the large stationary bushes ii, have each large gear Wheels 24 gearing into pinions 25 on a main driving shaft 26 which is driven by a motor 21 and reduction gear 28.

The central cage unit carrying the wheels 20, 26 and the two end cage units le are kept in correct relative angular disposition by the three pinions 25 on the main driving shaft 26 and are thus maintained in alignment to allow the rails to thread through said holes.

The rail of Figure 2 can be made by providing a cam control for the tool rest oscillating this to and fro.

Two rails will preferably be loaded on the cages it at the same time in order to maintain the balance of the cages. The feeding in of two unmachined rails will cause two machined ones to be pushed out. I

It will belseen that, should the cages It be comparativelylarge in diameter, then the cylindrically turned surfaces'will become almost fiat or, in section a straight line.

When the inner sides of one end of the rail are being bored as shown in Figure 4 at the right hand end, simultaneously with the outer sides of the other being turned to a common radius as shown in Figure '4 at the left hand end, a very accurate alignment of the rail ends is obtained and maintained.

I declare that what I claim is:

l. A method of shaping rail ends consisting in mounting a number of rails on a cage and cutting opposite sides of the rail ends simultaneously by rotating the cage relatively to cutting tools disposed adjacent to the ends of the rails.

2. A method of shaping rail ends consisting in mounting a number of rails on a cage and shaping the opposite sides of opposite ends of the rails simultaneously by rotating the cage relatively to cutting tools disposed adjacent the ends of the rails.

3. A machine for shaping rail ends comprising a cage, bearings for said cage, means external of the cage to rotate it in said bearings, guideways in said cage for rails, means to clamp rails in said guideways and cutting tools in the path of said rails when clamped in said guideways.

a. A machine for shaping rail ends comprising in combination a plurality of spaced toothed Wheels having axial holes for the receipt of rails, means to guide these wheels for rotation about their central axis, means to drive said wheels in synchronism and cutting tools disposed inside and outside of the rail ends when these are carried Within the axial holes in the Wheels.

ALFRED NATHAN BROGDEN. 

